From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Sat Dec 06 2003 - 21:32:34 PST
----- Original Message -----
From: e-LETTER_at_lists.sciencenews.org
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 3:43 AM
Subject: Science News e-LETTER
WEEKLY e-LETTER from SCIENCE NEWS
December 6, 2003
Subject: Science News Weekly e-letter
This week's cover story highlights future aircraft that can undergo fluid reshaping of components, such as the wings, during flight. News articles focus on detection of colon cancer, means by which sun storms spawn magnetic reversals, the chemistry of cirrus clouds, salt marsh snails as farmers, and more. Food for Thought ponders how inedible plants can be used to sop up lead in soil. MathTrek reports the discovery of the 40th Mersenne prime, now the largest known prime number.
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Science News is an award-winning weekly newsmagazine covering the most important research in all fields of science. Published since 1922, its 16 pages are packed with short, accurate articles that appeal to both general readers and scientists.
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To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org
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NEW: Science News for Kids
Go to http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org
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THIS WEEK'S FEATURED ARTICLES:
[Biomedicine]
No Scope: CT scan works as well as colonoscopy
A computed tomography scan of the large intestine works as well as colonoscopy in detecting signs of colon cancer.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob1.asp
[Ecology]
New Farmers: Salt marsh snails plow leaves, fertilize fungus
A salt marsh snail works the leaves of a plant in what researchers say looks like a simple form of farming.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob8.asp
[Technology]
Wings of Change: Shape-shifting aircraft may ply future skyways
Inspired by the Wright brothers, who steered their first flyer by twisting its pliant wings, engineers are developing versatile and flexible flying machines expected to undergo radical shape changes in flight.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/bob9.asp
[Biology]
Tiny Bubbles: Vesicles that cells spit out are implicated in cancer and AIDS
Microscopic vesicles shed by cells may help the AIDS virus, benefit cancer cells, and drive the immune response.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/bob10.asp
THIS WEEK'S ONLINE FEATURES:
[MATHTREK]
Megaprime Champion
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/mathtrek.asp
[FOOD FOR THOUGHT]
Leaden Gardens
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/food.asp
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To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org
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Week of December 6, 2003; Vol. 164 No. 23
THIS WEEK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS: http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/toc.asp
References and sources for all articles are available online at www.sciencenews.org
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REGISTERED SUBSCRIBERS to the print edition of Science News also have online access to the full text of the following articles:
[Astronomy]
Solar Flip-Flops: Sun storms spawn magnetic reversal
Coronal mass ejections, billion-ton clouds of charged particles blasted from the sun, appear to play a key role in reversing the sun's magnetic poles every 11 years.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob2.asp
[Earth Science]
Cloud Chemistry: Atmospheric scientists dissect cirrus clouds
Cirrus cloud formation is influenced by the particles in the atmosphere, including pollutants.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob3.asp
[Biology]
Seek and Destroy: Virus attacks cancer, spares normal cells
A virus carried by mosquitoes naturally homes in on cancer cells and destroys them.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob4.asp
[Behavior]
Allies in Therapy: Depression fix feeds off patient-therapist bond
Psychotherapy's ability to quell symptoms of depression may depend more on the therapeutic alliance, a measure of the bond between patient and therapist, than on any specific techniques wielded by the therapist.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob5.asp
[Paleontology]
Proud paleontologists proclaim: It's a boy!
Marine sediments deposited about 425 million years ago have yielded what scientists contend is the world’s oldest undoubtedly male fossil.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob6.asp
[Physics]
Doppler Toppler: Experiment upends normal frequency shift
The expected drop in frequency of a signal from a receding source--the Doppler effect--becomes a frequency increase when a high-current electric pulse creates extraordinary electromagnetic conditions in a web of electrical components.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/fob7.asp
[Biomedicine]
Two markers may predict heart risk
Two proteins that play a role in inflammation may serve as indicators of a person's risk of heart disease and stroke.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/note11.asp
[Planetary Science]
Martian sand ripples are taller than Earth's
New data gathered by a Mars-orbiting probe suggest that large ripples found in sandy areas of the Red Planet are more than twice as tall as their terrestrial counterparts.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/note12.asp
[Biology]
Plants, bats magnify neurotoxin in Guam
Researchers have found that the natural neurotoxin BMAA gets magnified as it rises through a food chain on Guam, a finding that strengthens a recent hypothesis that attempts to explain a spike in neurological disease on that island.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/note13.asp
[Science & Society]
Nanotech bill gives field a boost
Congress has approved a nanotechnology act that commits $3.7 billion in funding over 4 years and calls for research on the societal, environmental, and ethical implications of this rapidly growing field.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/note14.asp
[Science & Society]
Letters
Letters from the Dec. 6, 2003, issue of Science News.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031206/note15.asp
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To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org
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NEW: Science News for Kids!
Go to http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org
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